An influencer said she refused to swap seats on a plane so a family could sit together. For help with your awkward situation, send a question to SocialQ@nytimes.com, to Philip Galanes on Facebook or @SocialQPhilip on Twitter. A passenger has been praised online after refusing to swap seats twice on a 10-hour flight. ??? Offer another interpretation right away: Sounds like you need a vacation. WebAITA for refusing to switch airplane seats twice? If you decide to turn down the request to switch seats, doing it politely and in a friendly tone may help soften the blow even though you dont owe an explanation for why youre not okay with swapping. "We switched recently to help out a family," one commenter wrote. Its happened far too many times for it to be a coincidence. I have long legs, and those seats tend to provide more legroom not that I have to justify myself. Is it possible to create a concave light? It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered. IF it was possible to have a civil discourse on the subject AND a convincing enough excuse was given (e.g., death in the family, emergency, not enough money, etc. And I always ask if an upgrade is available. Bumping & Oversales | US Department of Transportation I think the flight crews should be more proactive about that when they see an uncomfortable seating arrangement, when they have crew on travelling on board. The caption when a family asks me to switch seats on the plane so they can sit together, followed by a raised And upon refusal, theyre mostly treated differently and are often lashed at for no reason. And I, as well, really dont care how adorable your kids are. Just say no, call the attendant if pressured, and ignore them. Some readers will correctly object that flight attendants are too harried on today's crowded flights to do much seat-rearranging. When it comes to small children, the rules do get thrown out because you cant expect little kids to sit alone. I said, 'respectfully ma'am, your travel issues are not my problem. News.com.au ran a poll asking whether the passenger whom Aussie man Jay Kloss asked to switch seats with should have given it up and a massive 83 percent of I Refused to Switch Seats on a Plane. Shall I press the call button so they can help you?". Do not engage with a pushy passenger. In a TikTok post which has now garnered more than 900,000 In a TikTok post which has now garnered more than 900,000 views, Audrey Peters toasts the camera with a glass of fizz.. I chose an aisle seat in both directions as close to the bathroom as I could get which cost me $81.00 each. OR your ESA (emotional support animal). Perhaps a flight crew Have you been in a similar situation where someone requested you to switch places on a flight? Another commented: 'Bro I'm sick of people asking to switch seats. How can I tactfully refuse to tell my loving brother my home address? I am keeping the seat I paid for.'". airplane Sometimes, aircraft swaps are beyond your control | Photo: Pixabay/tstrong20. Should you ask to switch seats? The great airplane debate. - The Sorry, but crew getting premium seats should be the exception. As more people travel for work and leisure, discussions about airplane etiquette and passenger comfort have gained traction online once again. Can airtags be tracked from an iMac desktop, with no iPhone? When they asked a passenger seated near them if they were willing to switch seats, he refused. Tim Nickerson has learned just how aggressive the commandeering of seats can be. Her husband was seated some rows behind. by Eric Spring. Little did the guy know the womans husband was watching from a corner. Except, of course, your actual reason for calling an attendant is because they are being insistent and you would need help to make them stop @a3nm "for you". I was in the window seat, my husband in the aisle seat. Another overweight passenger had booked two seats BUT when he got on the plane, only middle seats were left. I empathize with people traveling together who wish to sit together, including families, but every legacy carrier has a flexible seating chart that you can monitor from booking time literally until almost boarding time. I politely said no, that I was comfortable where I was, but she became disrespectful and wouldnt let up even after the plane had taken off and the pilot had turned off the seatbelt sign. I definitely wouldnt do it to sit in seat I dont want window or middle. If they say something minor like "I like an aisle seat", you can dismiss their question fairly lightly: "I like an aisle seat too, unfortunately, that's why I booked this one", they are unlikely to be much offended, because they know the request was cheeky. In sporadic cases, people are forced to move seats, and this time, the pressure doesnt come from co-passengers. How to react to a students panic attack in an oral exam? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. So I never offer a reason. Im so sick of people thinking its ok to disrupt someone for their lack of planning, one said. ": I don't understand the suggestion of offering to call an attendant for them, as if the person's insatisfaction with their seat and interest in your seat would mean that their problems have somehow also become your problem. If it was really about sitting together, why didn't they ask the people 20 rows back if they'd like the better seats upfront? Our wedding is approaching. I recently had an AA flight from Atlanta to LA, and paid for a preferred seat on the aisle as I usually do. WebIn the caption under a video posted Tuesday, Audrey Peters, a 25-year-old influencer from Miami with 653,000 TikTok followers, said she refused to give up her assigned seat on a Web1. But in the last year as restrictions have eased, travelers have begun booking vacations and business trips again and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that U.S. airlines carried over 71.2 million scheduled service passengers in May 2022. flight Justin Kase zsixz / Alamy Stock Photo. Often times members of said family will spend using their phones, watching their screens or sleeping. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. I would not use the approach of pretending to think the request was an offer (as suggested in other answers), unless the asker phrased it as such, because to me it sounds obviously disingenuous. Any number of passengers could have done so to accommodate those families. On flights, seatmates (strangers near my seat) have asked me to swap my aisle seat (reserved in advance, sometimes paid for), usually to my disadvantage as their seat has some snag (dirtier, narrower, too close to lavatory). I am sorry but I am just as important as you are. seat switch Unless you have special access to some kind of reservation system, they had the same chance you did of getting that seat. Because of this, not many passengers would be willing to swap seats even if the request is being made from parents who badly want to sit with their kids. People blurt especially about weather in the middle of winter. A seat swap request might look too good to be true | Photo: Pixabay/lukasbieri. seat I do not give up my assigned seat. If it Southwest, I always preboard and will not give up my aisle seat. I hope you are able to have this situation resolved.". The flight attendant asked if I wanted her to ask people to move so we could sit together, and before I could reply my kids declined saying they were all set they behaved as angels sitting alone. Of course, that never happens. Avoid continuing the argument unless you are willing to be persuaded/come to a compromise. I need to get up and move around so I always pick an aisle seat. Jay Kloss and his wife Zoe were travelling with Virgin I told the crew member that unless they [American Airlines] gave me a first-class seat near a bathroom and immediately refunded the $164.00 I paid for my seats to and back from London, I was staying where I was. Meanwhile, some offered an explanation as to why seats can often split groups up. I made friends with a woman whom I see at my kids play dates and in the park. Redoing the align environment with a specific formatting, Calculating probabilities from d6 dice pool (Degenesis rules for botches and triggers). ALWAYS ask for your money back if you dont get the seat you PAID for. travel.stackexchange.com/questions/48775/, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. (Edit in response to Wildcard's comment) Be gracious in your response and the scowling and glaring is their problem, not yours. Again, as I figure, a family who had not been willing to pay for three seats together. A man asked if he was in the wrong to ask a fellow airline passenger to switch seats with him so he could sit by his wife. She shut up, was taken into the kitchen area and probably got a warning. While the base action is the same as other suggestions - saying no and calling the attendant if pressured - the wording is designed to give them no way to argue with you, and immediately tells them what will happen if they continue to pressure you. (They could have booked in advance, too.) My moving would allow them to sit together. So thats why, if I couldnt get seats together, I would at least assign us an aisle and a window so we had some leverage and a better chance of enticing someone to move. After all, maybe youd paid extra for this particular seat or chose it after careful research. For instance, a person named Onne Vegter explained on Quora hed refused to swap seats with a woman because she wasnt willing to give up on her emergency exit seat. Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. I always pick a right-side aisle seat for the ease of mobilityso I wont have to inconvenience the other 2 passengers if and when Mother Nature calls. What is the purpose of this D-shaped ring at the base of the tongue on my hiking boots? However, she refused to swap seats, and the two ultra-Orthodox men switched places with female passengers. I do not know what exactly was going on, but I do not think it appropriate to ask a passenger to give up his/her seat and really not appropriate to get a pilot to ask. I love it here, and Im delighted I moved! Ill bet that changes these chats. But being male and flying alone, it seems that the likelihood of being picked by a flight attendant to give up ones seat so a family may sit next to each other on a 30-minute flight is VERY high. I select mine well in advance esp. seat switch In Deltas first class to NYC I encountered a young woman who, because she met an old boyfriend according to her in the line waiting to get into the plane, wanted to sit next to him, also in first class. A few years ago the passenger next to me was overweight and had booked two seats so Im happy with the extra elbow room. Just before takeoff the flight attendant told me I had to switch seats. Passenger Applauded for Refusing to Swap Seats So Family unfortunately for her loud enough so everybody in first class could hear her. Ideally, the passenger with a pressing, real need (not just a want) for a seat change thinks ahead and discusses his problem with the agents at the desk in the boarding area, who can alert the cabin crew. It turned out that the gentlemen beside me now was her husband. It's an unspoken rule when it comes to seat swaps | Photo: Unsplash/chrisbrignola. Then came the looks. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. (I consider this a harmless lie. Justin Kase zsixz / Alamy Stock Photo. Requests to change seats should be made to the flight attendant not to the passenger. Her video has been viewed more than 840,000 times - with a majority of people applauding her for refusing to switch seats. Bumping, also known as denied boarding, happens when there are more passengers scheduled to fly on an airplane than available seats. "Turns out we were seated in front of kids that kicked the seat for the entire 8 hour flight. Influencer applauded for refusing to swap seats so family can sit A PASSENGER refused to swap seats during a flight with a family so they could all sit together - but people are saying the same thing. In literally hundreds of flights, I have been asked only twice to change seats, once by the flight attendant to allow a very elderly and frail woman to sit next to a member of her family, who was seated next to me. When I travel, I book my flights well in advance. On other occasions when flying alone, I found myself in the middle seat between a married couple who hoped the seat would remain vacant. Book your flights earlier babes.. Wow, can you believe that? sighed one passenger after a parent started fussing about his refusal. Imagine being called heartless and cussed for not switching your seats with a mother who wants to sit with her kid in a long-haul flight. TikTok user Surya Garg shared a story about being asked to switch seats on a plane. The audio, which originates from a scene in the 2023 thriller movie "The Reading," has been going viral on TikTok in recent weeks and has been used in more than 70,000 videos. I asked why and was told the elderly lady wanted to sit with her husband. A viral story about helping a stranger refuse to switch plane seats Thats a hard no. Can you explain this part? This was decades ago and I cant remember why I wasnt in an exit row but a mother sat next to me in the middle and her little boy sat across the aisle in the other middle seat. I am not your sweet old gray haired grandmother, and I dont care how cute your kids are, Im not moving. ", With more than 9,000 upvotes and thousands of comments, the passenger explained: "I traveled home today from Greece. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. You werent wrong to politely refuse a request to move. Generally, you are entitled to sit in the seat that you paid for the one that is printed on your boarding pass. I certainly wasnt happy with that situation, particularly because I had paid extra for my original seat. Woman Refuses To Switch Seats on Plane With a 'Karen' to switch It is not my fault the couple decided to wait for the last possible minute so they would be assigned free seats. A New York woman who was on a flight recently said she was asked by a young family sitting across the aisle from her if she would swap her aisle seat meaning, Despite feeling inconvenienced, some people agree to switch places in exchange for another comfortable seat. WebYes a flight attendant can make you switch seats with or without reason. (Edit in response to @M.Mat) And you can conclude the whole interaction by offering to help: "I understand your need to find a different seat; I'm sorry I can't help you with this. One guy downright refused to swap his seat with a mother who didnt stop condemning him. She stated I could call customer service and they would handle it. Seating arrangements in planes are first-come, first-served, and in some cases, youd get some added perks like extra legroom. Keep in mind, though, that his sister may be very important to him. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. For instance, a woman was asked to switch seats owing to ultra-Orthodox beliefs. I am an older woman who generally travels solo. | doubt the flight attendants even think about this what I call flight attendant gender targeting. Why say you're sorry? News.com.au ran a poll asking whether the passenger whom Aussie man Jay Kloss asked to switch seats with should have given it up and a massive 83 percent of the 7,178 readers voted No. Plane Passenger Says Seatmate Kept 'Mumbling Profanities' After Another revealed: I remember when I worked my a** off to fly first class for the first time and I got made out to be the villain because I didnt wanna move., One wrote: Its so not fun when you reserve a seat and people ask you to move to a middle seat., Another agreed, saying: 100 per cent, it blows my mind that people sometimes then proceed to give you an attitude because you dont want to switch., While one suggested: I paid for my seat. Am I being old-fashioned? Airlines oversell their scheduled flights to a certain extent in order to compensate for no-shows.. Talk to the flight attendant if you don't like your seat. Even on Southwest, this has happened when I had early boarding because I paid extra or checked in literally at 24 hours before and the C boarding category folks get pushy demanding that I move 15 rows to the back of the plane kind of thing. I travel to 20+ countries a year sharing my firsthand knowledge of reward travel, travel credit card deals, travel tips and more. How can I politely refuse to help classmates with their work? That doesn't mean you need to agree to a bad trade, but don't add to the aggravation by being harsh with them. Be better., One suggested: To be honest - this mindset p***es me off., While another added: God forbid we be expected to make anyones life easier!. This usually lets me claim my preferred seat: on the aisle in the bulkhead row. Would you change seats to accommodate a disabled person? For instance, another Redditor faced a similar scenario where a parent tried negotiating a seat trade so that her son got the window seat to look outside. I didnt say anything but thought after that I should have said no but didnt want to cause a scene. We asked why and were told we were in the wrong seats. TikToks about whether adults should make sacrifices for children they encounter often spark debate, especially in the context of flight etiquette and whether it's fair to be asked to swap seats on planes so families can sit together. In October, a woman named Maresa Friedman defended herself for not moving seats in a TikTok that went viral, eliciting a response from another creator who urged her to "do better" and have "compassion" for families. The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. How to tactfully refuse to provide academic help? My buddy Robert Rose, who hosts the popular travel show Raw Travel, which airs nationwide on a variety of networks including CBS, NBC and Fox, posted a message on Facebook, By now, Im sure youve seen all of the terrible images and graphics of states and hospitals being overwhelmed by COVID-19. If I am traveling alone, I will only exchange seats if they are offering a better seat than the one I am in. Requests to change seats should be made to the flight attendant not to the passenger. The last time I bought tickets for a flight I did so in advance and chose seats then when preparing to board, was assigned a completely different seat! switch airplane seats On TikTok, Peters typically posts fashion and lifestyle content, filming herself putting together an outfit for the day or showing viewers some of her recent purchases from designer brands. It doesn't work on everyone, but it's been surprisingly effective for me. Also, it doesnt matter if you paid extra or chose the most appealing freebie seat, the seat allotment printed on your boarding pass belongs only to you. When I travel, I book my flights well in advance. I have read similar columns like this one. Beware: the exchange is not always worth it. Johnny Jet does not include all card companies or all card offers available in the marketplace. Not really. A polite decline will leave you in the seat you reserved. Flying with young children is challenging; doing so while sitting in separate rows, or under unexpected circumstances (a distant family member falling ill, for instance), is far more difficult. When folks have asked me to move, I am very polite but explain that I paid for my seat in advance so that I could have extra leg room or movement. They asked the netizen if they could change seats with them, to which they politely refused, while also giving them a couple of reasons why. This dear, young woman ended up sprawling all over the poor lady sitting next to her. Euler: A baby on his lap, a cat on his back thats how he wrote his immortal works (origin? Four passengers seated themselves forward from their assigned seats before takeoff. I am not moving. Across TikTok, the audio in the video has been used by many to discuss the experience of being asked to look after or pander to the needs of another person's kids. So, I politely refused. Basic economy states exactly that issue if you want to save a few bucks and not pay for the seats. Some people realize the seat isnt for them after booking in advance and mostly walk to someone in the aisle seat requesting an exchange. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Flight fright: Family asks person to switch plane seats, he refuses If you want to avoid having to cave to peer pressure or looking like the bad guy by not switching seats to accommodate families, then book a seat in the exit row since kids under 15 cant sit there. ESPECIALLY when your flight is canceled and the airline is responsible for your choice seat loss on your rebooked flight. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Travellers unfair seat swap request. Watch a movie. Would I move to the bulkhead aisle with a screaming baby next to me. But my fianc objected. Several passengers made nasty comments. It was usually an individual request. Especially if a longer flight. ignore the intimidation. Many passengers have divided opinions after a downright refusal to switch places. A couple embarking on their honeymoon failed to book seats together on the plane ride. I am 75 and mildly handicapped (cerebral palsy mild) and mildly arthritic. In February, a TikToker received more than 9 million views on a post in which he used the audio to document the moment he refused to let a crying child take the last spot on a Formula 1 test ride. AITA: Refusing to change seats with newly weds At the time, I was learning Portuguese from cds and decided to spend the rest of the flight with my ear buds and she had to listen to me speak in Portuguese responding to the Portuguese lessons and I made sure she could hear every word all the way across the United States. Unless theres a very good reason I will not switch and even then only to an aisle seat. That should be the end of it.". I didnt think fast enough to make that request. I was also asked by a mother to switch seats. That one I turned down with "Do I look stupid? After asking Reddit users if they were in the wrong for refusing to move, commenters started leaving their thoughts overwhelmingly siding with the poster. We will not stop that. refuses Are You Obligated to Switch Seats on a Plane? - JohnnyJet.com (Lets put aside rules about emergency exit rows and other special circumstances.) 60,000 bonus points. Usually I would switch, it depends on the situation. Different people have different levels of willingness to move. But would you trade your comfort for someone who wants to sit with their kid? An influencer has been applauded for refusing to swap seats on a flight so a family could sit together.. If you don't, you could actually make it the truth by applying a personal policy to book seats with a number which is suitably relevant to you, thereby maintaining a clear conscience.). What seemed like a peaceful flight turned into a nightmare when a mother approached the guy and asked him to trade his seat so that she could sit with her kid. We were unable to verify the details of this case. The complimentary wine and warm nuts of business class are a balm to many wounds. However if their request is reasonable (i.e. Melanie Wolfson paid for an aisle seat but was shocked to find two men in the window and middle seats. Never again. Now, none of this obliges you to change seats. While another reply said: "People need to learn to take the first no graciously. I suspect that the answer is "no". Be straight with your fianc and talk this through. Just let it be part of your calculation., RELATED: Worst Seatmate Ever: Frequent Flyers Reveal Their Worst Experiences. ), then I would almost always move, except to a location one poster mentioned abovenear the bathroom. I like this seat just fine." "[He] said that 'she hates traveling, but giving her the seat would've made things easier in the end,'" explained the poster. Credit: Audrey Peters. The Redditor lost his cool when the mother couldnt control her child from grabbing his phone. A flight passenger has sparked a big debate after a man refused to swap seats with him so he could sit next to his wife on her birthday. On January 13, a Seattle-based TikToker with 140,000 followers named Arleen Ive been on both sides of this multiple times. You will never be T A for refusing to switch seats. At the last second, two young women came on board and were frustrated that they had middle seats and not together, so the one next to me said Why dont you go back there and take her seat so she and I can sit together? as if it was expected that I would just jump up and do that. How can I find out which sectors are used by files on NTFS? (Maybe its all three!) But does the person who first requested a seat swap approve? Do whatever you would normally do. The passenger stood his ground and politely asked the woman to see if someone in her row volunteered to switch places with her kid. After deciding to remain in her seat, she reflected: I dont want to look like an a-hole, but I dont think Im an a-hole in this situation. My husband and I sit aisles with me in front of him as I dont recline my seat but one notch. I cant believe 2 adults HAVE to sit together on a plane flight. I paid extra for this seat', she recalled. Recovering from a blunder I made while emailing a professor. Answer politely and succinctly, give reasons, but don't belabor them. No Im not switching for a middle seat. As we finalized our guest list, it was obvious to me that his single sister would not get a plus one for the wedding.